Chelsea slumped to a shock defeat at Stamford Bridge, where Bournemouth beat them 3-0. Here’s how we rated each Blues player on a miserable night for Antonio Conte’s side.
The Blues goalkeeper was left horribly exposed for Bournemouth’s first and third goals – but he should have done better when Junior Stanislas fired through his legs to make it 2-0.
Azpilicueta was probably the best of the bunch in a below-par Chelsea defence, producing vital clearances to foil Callum Wilson and Jordon Ibe before the rot set in.
Commanding in the air, the Danish centre-back looked less impressive on the ground and was turned too easily by Ibe before limping off with a suspected hamstring injury in the first half.
The skipper might have opened the scoring with a first-half header onto the roof of the net. But he was found wanting for all three Bournemouth goals in a horrific 15-minute spell.
Zappacosta’s positioning was sometimes suspect, but he looked a threat going forward and set up a decent chance for Marcos Alonso before being substituted midway through the second half.
Many of the Blues’ better moments involved either barnstorming runs or incisive passes from Kante, whose vision set up a couple of openings for Eden Hazard during the early stages of the game.
Looked cumbersome and was outshone by the likes of Dan Gosling and Lewis Cook – as well as losing the ball in the build up to Wilson’s opener for the Cherries.
Alonso was arguably closer to breaching the Bournemouth defence than anyone with two fair efforts from distance, as well as directing a header fractionally wide with the game still scoreless.
After a slow start, the Spaniard became more influential in midfield and forced Asmir Begovic into his first save of the game – unfortunately though, that was after 70 minutes with Chelsea three down.
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The Belgian was a handful for Bournemouth’s back line at times, but he often drifted too deep and missed a good opportunity when he failed to get his head to Alonso’s cross.
Is lacking match sharpness and it showed. Clearly eager to make an impact, Barkley’s passing was wayward and he was withdrawn early in the second half.
Having replaced Christensen, the German defender immediately unfurled an eye-catching crossfield pass to Zappacosta. But he soon found himself mired in Chelsea’s general defensive mediocrity.
Fabregas offered more going forward after coming on for Barkley, but a lapse deep inside Chelsea territory contributed to the visitors’ third goal and he was also yellow-carded for a foul on Josh King.
The teenager was brought on for Zappacosta and showed energy and desire on his Premier League debut, also testing Begovic as the Blues chased the game in vain.
This post was last modified on 01/02/2018
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Conte night be Sacked in the Morning